For the second time in their previous three Coupe de France campaigns, Pontarlier will feature in the round of 64 as they welcome Lyon to Stade Leo Lagrange on Sunday.
In their second-round fixture last month, the fifth-tier French side eliminated Sarre-Union 3-1 on penalties, while Lyon earned a direct bye into this stage of the competition.
Match preview
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After a nervy penalty shootout last month, Pontarlier are back in the third round, with a chance to cause a massive upset against a side four tiers above them in the French league system.
The side from Franche-Comte were on the verge of creating a huge shock the last time they faced a Ligue 1 side in this competition, playing Montpellier HSC to a 1-1 draw in January 2018 but losing 5-3 on penalties.
That is as close as they have ever come to advancing into the last 32 of this competition, and it was also the last time they won a Coupe de France encounter on home soil, defeating Mulhouse 2-1 in November 2017.
Jean-Luc Courtet's men have won just once at home domestically this season, though they have only lost one of their last four matches in Group J of their league campaign, claiming 13 points after nine matchdays.
While Pontarlier find themselves just a single point above the relegation line, they have three games in hand on the group leaders Rumilly-Vallieres for an automatic spot in National 2, trailing them by 11 points in the table.
They have yet to lose a match in 2023-24 when leading or even at the interval, while they have not conceded a goal in normal time on their current Coupe de France campaign.
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It has taken two coaching changes for Lyon to steer their seemingly sinking ship back on course this season, with Les Gones digging themselves out of the relegation zone by the end of 2023.
Pierre Sage took over this team under less-than-ideal circumstances, with Lyon claiming just seven points from their opening 12 league contests, sitting at the bottom of the table at the time.
After losing his first two matches at the helm, Sage has guided them to three successive top-flight triumphs without a goal conceded over that stretch.
As a result, they enter 2024 with much more hope, four points above the relegation line and two points above Toulouse in the relegation playoffs.
While their recent top-flight campaigns have not gone so well, they always seem to be at their best in this competition, having made it to at least the last eight in each of the past five seasons, while they have not suffered a third-round defeat since 2012-13 (7-5 on penalties versus SAS Epinal).
It has been nearly a decade since they were eliminated from this competition by a side below them in the French league system, losing 2-1 versus Lens in February 2014 when Les Sang et Or were in Ligue 2.
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Team News
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We saw one newcomer in the Pontarlier starting 11 from their opening round Coupe de France fixture to match two, with Paul Salvi coming into the fold last month, replacing Jordan Renaudin.
Lucas Buisson has yet to concede a goal for them in this competition, while Mathieu Dufeal, Mohamed Cisse and Maxime Bonnet converted their penalty kicks in their second-round shootout victory over US Sarre-Union.
Despite being red-carded in the latter stages of their previous Ligue 1 encounter, Dejan Lovren is still eligible to feature for Lyon in this match, though Johann Lepenant is unlikely to see the field because of a knee sprain.
Alexandre Lacazette led the team with four goals in the previous Coupe de France campaign, while he netted four times in their final three league fixtures of 2023, with Anthony Lopes collecting a clean sheet in each of those encounters.
Pontarlier possible starting lineup:
Buisson; Da Rocha, Monney, Villemain, Vannier-Simon, Imamo; Bonnet, Rota, Cisse, Dufeal; Hattab
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Riou; Kumbedi, Caleta-Car, Diomande, Tagliafico; Caqueret, Diawara; Cherki, Tolisso, Moreira; Jeffinho
We say: Pontarlier 0-3 Lyon
Had this match occurred a couple of months ago, Pontarlier may have been in line for an upset against an OL side where morale was about as low as we have ever seen.
A lot has changed over the past few weeks in Lyon, however, and we expect the visitors to maintain the tremendous defensive discipline they showed at the end of 2023 and dismantle a Pontarlier side that look far inferior to them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
